PICKERING -- Watching the demolition of Evergreen Villa meant more than just watching history laid to waste for one Pickering resident.

"For me there are family memories here, a lot of my relatives lived here and I spent a lot of time in that home as a kid," said Jim Miller, whose great-aunt married into the Barclay family.

The Barclays were among the earliest settlers of Pickering Township and built Evergreen Villa, at 3970 Brock Rd., in the 1850s.

A group of about 10 individuals, most members of advocacy group Land Over Landings, which advocates for the federal lands to be turned into a land trust, gathered in the chilly morning air on Nov. 7 to watch the demolition, waving LOL signs and placards reading "shame."

"This is a remembrance of the past and a vigil of watching unnecessary destruction," Mr. Miller said.

"This is beyond watching a building come down, I'm watching family memories being destroyed."

The home holds a special place in the hearts of LOL members as the site of the first meeting of People or Planes, a protest group formed by local residents in 1972 after the government announced the expropriation of their land for a planned airport. That group was the precursor to LOL, with many members still involved in the fight to preserve the lands.

"This home is special," said Gabrielle Untermann, secretary of LOL, fighting back emotion.

"We can't stop the destruction but we want to register our disgust at this travesty that's been perpetrated on these lands over the last 40 years. Just the history of this place, it's so wrong that the government is not respecting heritage."

Gerd Untermann was quick to point out there is some optimism, as some of the land's occupied homes have been lovingly maintained by tenants.

"We behave as if we have all our life to live there, we maintain it and make it beautiful, despite living on the runway," Mr. Untermann explained of the couple's home.

"It's heartbreaking to think that some people didn't care about these homes and let them fall into disrepair. There is two sides to this story, but it's hard to face the fact that not everyone feels like a steward."

So far in 2012 Transport Canada has demolished or begun the process of demolition on 32 properties, with up to 48 buildings expected to be taken down by the end of March 2013.

"The structures scheduled to be demolished are vacant, and are not economically viable to restore or re-tenant," said Pam Mintern, regional communications advisor for Transport Canada, noting that mould, flooded basements, questionable structural soundness and even asbestos often factor into demolitions.

"Demolition of vacant structures is the single most effective way to ensure that health, safety and liability risks are mitigated to protect individuals who venture into or near them, whether authorized or trespassing."

For Heather Rigby, who has lived on the federal lands for 35 years, the demolition is another reminder of the limbo faced by remaining residents of the lands.

"It's alarming and heartbreaking to know so much heritage is being lost," she said. "Not only the architectural heritage, which is so exquisite, but the use of the land is of utmost importance and my concern is that it be realized to its full potential. There could be a move to small, sustainable farming here to feed Ontario, this area is an ideal microcosm to show the world what can be done."